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Very happy KSU fan tonight.
Various responses
Notre dame many not be for real but that won clinched a bcs big unless they did a third loss.
Having seen duke's field and various Texas hs fields I doubt it would crack the top 10
Geno Smith body language and sideline demeanor we terrible. His only throw longer than 15 yards down field was to noone.
And a question
They wouldn't really let Colin Klien win the heisman right? They'll have it go to a Notre dame defensive line Mman first.

penn state is looking pretty decent. 5-2 (3-0), with a 5 game winning streak. their two losses to start the season were kind of fluky, and they seem to be getting better every week. they got out to a 38-0 lead tonight against iowa, and both the offense and the defense were firing on all cylinders.

they play ohio state next week, which seems to be a bit fortuitous, considering braxton miller's injury. supposedly, there'll be somewhere around 100 potential recruits who will be in town for the game.

and speaking of recruiting, if this coaching staff is around for a while, the team should be in really good shape. offensively, o'brien's aggressive pro-style offense should be a magnet for pocket passers, offensive linemen, and running backs. and if this year is any indication, he also seems to be very aggressive in featuring multiple tight ends, which makes sense, given his recent experience in new england, where their two TEs -- gronkowski and hernandez -- combined for 24 TDs last season.

and in addition to that, the fact that o'brien retained the DL and LB coaches from paterno's staff bodes well for their ability to continue to draw top talent on the defensive side of the ball.

Utah should be tied up here with Oregon St. Really, really a bad fumble on a inside reverse near the goal line, the dude catches it and he walks in and instead muffs it and the OSU DE who slips on his ass falls on it.

The only QB in the country better than Geno Smith is the QB playing WVU. Jesus Christ their pass defense is absurdly bad. If they don't get their head out their ass they're going to get stomped by every team besides KU. Every team in the Big 12 this year is pretty good besides KU. Who is awful.

KSU really impressed me today. I still can't help but feel like they are destined to lose a game or two, but it's clear it's going to take a big performance.

Texas' defense is so bad. It's a shame that the back 7 are so bad (and injured, in the LB core) that they're ruining a legitimately very good defensive line. It's like if the front 4 doesn't get pressure or make the tackle, the only other potential option is a big play.

I don't see any way that Oregon loses to Stanford, and I'd be pretty surprised to see them lose to USC. One the one hand, Oregon clearly has the worst SOS of the undefeateds - on the other hand, I think Oregon has the best chance to beat Alabama of the ND, KSU, Oregon, and Florida group. Alabama's offense is very good. I think if you can exploit them in one area, it's on defense - I haven't seen a ton of them but I don't think their defense is nearly on the level of last year. Of course, they haven't had to play a very good offense yet and its letting the newer guys get time to grow into their roles.

I also think that Oklahoma clearly looks like the best 1 loss team in the country, and that KSU loss doesn't look nearly as bad now as I had thought it was early in the year.

I think if you can exploit them in one area, it's on defense - I haven't seen a ton of them but I don't think their defense is nearly on the level of last year. Of course, they haven't had to play a very good offense yet and its letting the newer guys get time to grow into their roles.

Everybody and their sister was telling us how Tennessee will represent a challenge to Alabama and how their offense matches up well against our defense. We saw how that worked out.

But I do agree, Alabama is not as shutdown on defense as they were last year. They are thin at CB and for whatever reason Alabama still cannot find that great edge rusher on defense. I am looking forward to the Texas A&M match up for that reason. But two more games before that Alabama needs to win....

Everybody and their sister was telling us how Tennessee will represent a challenge to Alabama and how their offense matches up well against our defense. We saw how that worked out.

I don't know who said that. It certainly wasn't me, and I'm not going to defend stupid things other people say. Tennessee was ranked as roughly the 50th best team in the country by Sagarin going into the Alabama game. That's probably a pretty accurate representation of how good they are, which basically means that something crazy would have to happen for them to beat a legit team. Sagarin's ratings suggest that Alabama is about 30 points better than Tennessee, and that's what we saw play out.

Interestingly, Sagarin hates the Big East. I guess we shouldn't be surprised, but he has Cincy, Rutgers, and Louisville ranked 33, 34, and 43 respectively.

Also, Sagarin's ratings going into the week had Kansas as "only" the 88th worst team in the country. Bad, but definitely not as bad as I'd have expected. BCS teams that were rated worse:

Illinois (99)
Wake Forest (107)
Wazzu (104)
Kentucky (106)

And then there's Colorado (144). Colorado is putting up a season that belongs in the conversations with Wazzu '08 and Wazzu '09 for worst season ever by a BCS school. Next week, Colorado plays at Oregon. We could be looking at an 80-3 type score there.

I don't know who said that. It certainly wasn't me, and I'm not going to defend stupid things other people say. Tennessee was ranked as roughly the 50th best team in the country by Sagarin going into the Alabama game. That's probably a pretty accurate representation of how good they are, which basically means that something crazy would have to happen for them to beat a legit team. Sagarin's ratings suggest that Alabama is about 30 points better than Tennessee, and that's what we saw play out.

Oh I mean I knew Alabama was going to beat Tennessee. I was talking more about Tennessee's passing game against Alabama's perceived weakness: the secondary.

The only QB in the country better than Geno Smith is the QB playing WVU. Jesus Christ their pass defense is absurdly bad. If they don't get their head out their ass they're going to get stomped by every team besides KU. Every team in the Big 12 this year is pretty good besides KU. Who is awful.

They are an embarrassment to the game itself. WVU will end up with the worst defense in school history by the end of the year. 2 years ago, in 2010 WVU had one of the 3 best defenses in school history. The problem is a combination of poor coaching and lack of talent. WVU is starting 2 senior CBs, but after that the entire secondary is freshman, soph, or RS fresh. At LB and on the DL, WVU has some upperclassman starters, but everyone else on the two deep is fresh/soph and inexperienced. We might be seeing the first major problems with Stewart's 2 undersigning classes and the above average attrition rate in all three of his classes.

The scheme/technique/whatever is awful as well. The corners routinely play 13-15 yards off the line, even in 3rd and 4 situations. That has to be coaching. Not ever turning and looking for the ball, that might be poor practice technique. WVU can do an alright job at bottling up the run, until they visibly give up after the opposing teams puts up 2-3 scores through the air. I mean ####, Klein has a throw-like-a-girl arm mechanics, and he still looked like Steve ####### Young out there.

Deforest (DC) might be in over his head. I know he was ST coordinator and asst. HC at OK St, but I'm not sure he has what it takes to run a defense. He might figure it out sometime, but as a local radio guy says: "WVU is not the place to figure out if you can coach" (not trying to sound arrogant).

Holgerson has got to find a way to keep the entire team motivated even after the defense gives up 21 in a quarter. It has to be deflating to know you have to score every time you touch the ball, and to start the game with a punt, but somehow Dana and co need to stay poised. Both the games the last 2 weeks were over midway through the 2nd quarter. WVU just looked deflated & dejected, and went through the motions for the last 2.5 quarters. WVU was overrated at #5, I think everyone knew that. There is a big difference in being a top 5 MNC contender and being embarrassed on both sides of the ball every week.

Holgerson has got to find a way to keep the entire team motivated even after the defense gives up 21 in a quarter

Wasn't the sideline demeanor awful both for Holgerson and Geno Smith? Holgerson looked a little lost, Geno kept standing there with his bottom lip out like a frustrated toddler.

I don't mean this as a rip the Big East, but do you think the consistent quality of the opponents in the Big 12 is wearing on WVU and TCU? I think that is some of it, plus just facing a bunch of teams for the first time can't be helping. It will be easier to game plan for all these teams next season I'm sure. At least that is what Missouri fans keep saying on the radio about their awful SEC showing.

We might be seeing the first major problems with Stewart's 2 undersigning classes and the above average attrition rate in all three of his classes.

I don't want to take up too much space on the board talking about a 7th place Big 12 team, but I think that's a big part of it. The junior class is a punt, there are three-four players (Bailey, Rigg, Clarke, someone else probably, McCartney is useless) who actually matter to the team in that class.

The best rated players in the current recruiting class are defensive players, so at least the staff recognizes how desperately they need bodies on that side of the ball. I think WVU was not as primed for the Big 12 as the Orange Bowl made them look. You can paper over gaping holes in a program with a few star players when you are playing in a bowl, or in a weak Big East like last year. But the absurdly deep Big 12 has exposed the disrepair Stewart left the program in.

I mean ####, Klein has a throw-like-a-girl arm mechanics, and he still looked like Steve ####### Young out there.

That game reminded me of the Tebow's last game Florida-Cincinnati Sugar Bowl. Man, that was just a stomping.

Deforest (DC) might be in over his head. I know he was ST coordinator and asst. HC at OK St, but I'm not sure he has what it takes to run a defense. He might figure it out sometime, but as a local radio guy says: "WVU is not the place to figure out if you can coach" (not trying to sound arrogant).

I don't think that's arrogant. This is just like the QB coach from Wake that Stewart hired to be the OC (I can't believe I forgot his name already, I must have cursed it a thousand times a season when he was ruining Noel Devine's career)? That was a total disaster. A BCS team that frequently has a number next to its name, with WVU's history and funds should be hiring far more proven commodities than they have at coordinator positions. Deforest came in saying the wrong things, it sure likes he's teaching the wrong things to his players at this point. It's probably a combination of inexperience (players and coaches) and lack of talent (players and coaches), but WVU should at least be able to fix the coaching element quickly.

Is any team doing well in its new conference? Seems like all the teams that moved are not now, nor will ever be football powers. shoulda stayed where you were. How could Mizzou honestly think they had a chance in the sec? they must be smoking something great there.

I don't mean this as a rip the Big East, but do you think the consistent quality of the opponents in the Big 12 is wearing on WVU and TCU?

Can't speak to TCU but absolutely with WVU. Stewart ingrained a serious lack of mental toughness in this program. Most of these guys are his players and it's still reflected when they get down. In the Big East, there were NO programs that could come out and really match up with them talent wise and they still lost 2-3 games a year because of sloppiness (8 fumbles against UConn for example) and sleep walking through games (Getting housed by bad Syracuse teams two years in a row).

I still think Holgorsen is the guy to fix this problem. The team's discipline and turnover rate has improved dramatically since he started. The physical conditioning is world's better than it was under Stewart. I think he will eventually instill a mentality in the program that will prepare these guys for the rigor of playing 7-8 tough conference games instead of three. But it appears that it will be a longer process than I had hoped it would be. Losing Geno probably won't hurt as much if the program takes more positive steps forward across the board next year, but if the team doesn't wake up soon, this season could turn ugly fast.

Reminded me of the '87 version of the worst matchup of major conference schools in the country, KU v KSU, and they tied. The two had 1 victory between them on the season.

I was there!
It was terrible!

Seriously, at the end of the game they had to announce over the PA, "There is no overtime in collegiate football. The game is over." because most of the crowd was still there waiting for something to happen, or perhaps sleeping.

braxton miller seems to have been cleared to play in this weeks' ineligi-bowl. that should probably increase the likelihood of a blowout loss.

O$U's defense is a tire fire and their offense with Braxton is good but not elite. If Hope isn't such an idiot that should be fired immediately, he runs the damn ball 3 times, runs down the clock, and wins that game.

It's going to be a close game probably, maybe 34-31 O$U. PSU isn't that bad this year. Penn State fans like yourself should just enjoy this year and possibly the next, because after that, the wheels are gonna come off from the scholie limits.

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Michigan played a conservative game on Saturday and got the job done despite more red zone trouble. Something about Borges and Denard just doesn't click for either guy, it's painful to watch at times but with Mattison's defense playing at a near elite level the offense just needs to not turn it over and Michigan will win more times than not. Michigan wins this week at Lincoln it clears the way for a helluva showdown with O$U for the B1G title, even if in spirit only with O$U's bowl ban.

It's going to be a close game probably, maybe 34-31 O$U. PSU isn't that bad this year. Penn State fans like yourself should just enjoy this year and possibly the next, because after that, the wheels are gonna come off from the scholie limits.

the limit is essentially at full effect already, due to the coaching staff redshirting most of the freshman class.

also, as i noted above, recruiting should be a much easier sell than was previously expected, due to bill o'brien's coaching and playcalling. if you're a traditional dropback quarterback, where are you going to get better coaching than penn state? matt mcgloin (!!!) has a 62% completion rate, and a 14:2 touchdown:interception ratio. in case you're not familiar with mcgloin, he's 5th year former walkon, who over the previous 2 years had a 54% completion rate and a 22:14 touchdown:interception ratio. and he's doing that despite everything else that's going on (the change in staff, the sanctions, the teammates transferring).

already on that front, penn state has retained the commitment from a top 2013 QB recruit, and there's also a strong possibility of bringing in a highly-regarded juco transfer.

and in addition to that, his usage of tightends should also attract a number of highly-regarded recruits at that position.

and in addition to that, his aggressiveness on offense should attract a number of other recruits on that side of the ball. he's probably attempted more 4th down conversions than the rest of the B1G combined, and if you're a runningback, or an offensive lineman, or a wide receiver, that means more opportunity for you to showcase yourself.

and in addition to that, penn state could attract an inordinate amount of priority walkons. the combination of the school itself, the history and prominence of the football program, and the possibility of actually getting on the field due to the reduction in scholarship players could be a very attractive combination to someone who would otherwise commit to villanova or upenn or delaware or rutgers.

Steagles, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but you're not going to be the first team in the history of the NCAA to not feel the effect of massive scholie losses. It's hurting USC, and you're not USC.

well, i am admittedly wildly optimistic about all things sports, so it's very possible, maybe even likely, that you're right, but i'll just make one mention that penn state has been coached by bernie for the last decade, and it's just a breath of fresh air to have a coaching staff that is actually engaged.

and in addition, i actually do think it makes a difference that this new coaching staff is doing things that noone else in division 1 is doing.

Ducks are 46 pt faves at home vs those Buffs. Actually not nearly as high as some of the conference lines I've seen over the years w dominant teams. Me thinks UO's 2nd half cruise control, they've employed a few times this season in the 2nd half keeps that line down. Those Holieway OU teams in '86/'87 were 50+ faves over Mizzou, KU etc.

I don't think Notre Dame has a chance in a high scoring game, but I think it's possible they pull a KSU. They have a good defense, they just can't afford to allow OU to score 21+ because I don't think that ND can do that.

I don't think Notre Dame has a chance in a high scoring game, but I think it's possible they pull a KSU. They have a good defense, they just can't afford to allow OU to score 21+ because I don't think that ND can do that.

This. ND can win if the defense shows up. If the defense has a poor game, they're going to get stomped.

Alabama by 24, basically like 30-6.
Oklahoma about 24-13
I think Georgia/Florida will be close, I have no idea why. But I'm taking Georgia.
TT/KSU will be very close, I'm taking TT.
I'll take USC over Arizona but I think Arizona scores 30+
Michigan State wins a low scoring game over Wisconsin
I'll take Michigan over Nebraska, as well.

Also, that Cincy/Louisville game was exciting but also a really low quality of game.

Agreed. I think Rutgers is the best team in the conference by a decent margin. I don't see them losing to the Ville or a team as sloppy as Cincy. And they've pretty much beaten the rest of the conference at this point. It will be nice to see the Big East have two highly ranked teams without OOC losses playing for the conference at the end of the season.

Manny Diaz honestly doesn't have a ####### clue how to call a defensive play that is designed to stop the run. All he ever wants to ####### do is run zone blitzes. Which doesn't ####### matter when the team just wants to run every play.

Plenty of schools, in particular Georgia, Baylor and USC. As I've said before, take away riding Tom Brady's coattails and O'Brien's resume is weak.

riding tom brady's coattails? the last two years with BOB, the patriots were 27-5. this year? 4-3. if anyone was riding anyone else's coattails, it seems like brady was riding o'brien's.

also, matt mcgloin has no business doing what matt mcgloin has been doing this season. he's actually starting to look like he might get a call from the NFL, which is, astonishing to say, at the very least.

It's inexcusable for Texas to be losing to this year's Kansas squad. I saw some sense in giving Brown sometime to rework the program, but this is getting to the point where the AD should start considering other options.

If Texas loses more than 3 games in the regular season (which looks very likely at this point) then I think they have to replace Mack Brown. I love Mack Brown, and will always hold him in high regard. But I just don't think there's anywhere near enough accountability in the program and that comes from him. How many years of being mediocre in a row is enough? I'd say 3, and we're halfway into a game that is cementing that.

Also, David Ash is a ####### bum. The idea that his numbers are so good this year is a testament to how good the receivers and backs are.

O'Brien is the third guy whose claim to fame is that he made Tom Brady apparently. Scott Loeffler and Josh McDaniels are the other two.

1, loeffler chose to play drew henson over tom brady during brady's senior year. it's quite possible that without loeffler, brady would have been a top 5 pick. if you look at the other QBs in that draft, chad pennington was the only one taken in the first 2 rounds, and --actually, wasn't there an ESPN movie on this very subject?

as for mcdaniels, well, at least he had the good sense to run jay cutler out of denver. that kind of shows good instincts, right?

Steagles - Google Brady's combine picture. In a chance to get a better, higher paying job, Brady showed up to a workout contest in that kind of shape. There was no way he was going anywhere near the first round.

I watched a shitload of Michigan back in Brady's heyday. There is absolutely no way he was going to be a top 5 pick. He was absolutely a player that developed in the pros.

Yea, Michigan Tom Brady was a fine college QB that won a lot of games with a ton of talent around him. The NFL QB Tom Brady is a legend who has won a lot of games, sometimes with middling at best talent around him. Compared to say Payton with the Colts, Brady has had much less to work with.

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I feel really, really bad for Marcus Lattimore and his family. Just another player ground up in the NFL's master plan. Without the age limit there is no way he returns to SC this year and maybe when he blows out his knee every which way but loose he's at least got a couple million in the bank or some fancy cars and a house for his folks. I hope he had a decent insurance policy on himself.

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Harvey: I'm not sure what we are disagreeing about. I don't think OSU is elite, certainly not by their own standards. They have a good, not elite offense and a middling defense. They have remained undefeated thanks to an easy schedule and some good luck (mostly created by B1G coaching incompetence).

Whisky could easily knock them off. So could Michigan. Neither of those teams is elite either.

I watched a shitload of Michigan back in Brady's heyday. There is absolutely no way he was going to be a top 5 pick. He was absolutely a player that developed in the pros.

62% completion rate, 7.6 YPA, 20:6 TD:INT ratio, and michigan was ranked as high as #3 in the country. with a little luck, he could have been an undefeated national championship winning QB. maybe that wouldn't have been enough to get him into the first round/top 10/top 5, but it would have gotten him a much longer look than he got.

I feel really, really bad for Marcus Lattimore and his family. Just another player ground up in the NFL's master plan. Without the age limit there is no way he returns to SC this year and maybe when he blows out his knee every which way but loose he's at least got a couple million in the bank or some fancy cars and a house for his folks. I hope he had a decent insurance policy on himself.

he still has a year of eligibility, right? maybe he takes 12 months to rehab and then comes back at full strength for the bulk of next year's SEC schedule.

that was a gruesome injury, though. with the way his leg was flopping, it actually looked more like a dislocation/broken leg than a torn ligament. either way, not good.

62% completion rate, 7.6 YPA, 20:6 TD:INT ratio, and michigan was ranked as high as #3 in the country. with a little luck, he could have been an undefeated national championship winning QB. maybe that wouldn't have been enough to get him into the first round/top 10/top 5, but it would have gotten him a much longer look than he got.

61% completion percentage, 7.7 YPA, 17-4 TD-INT rate on an undefeated team. The next year he was even better.

sometimes with middling at best talent around him. Compared to say Payton with the Colts, Brady has had much less to work with

I feel this seriously underplays the offensive line of the Patriots (and defense too, each of those SB winning teams had elite defenses). Brady always seemed to have a bit more time to set and throw than just about every other QB. I know what the sacks stat say (The Patriots were usually just above average at preventing them) but it seems that he gets so many chances to sit back there and do whatever he wants.